Doctors have figured out that measles can lead to severe complications in kids - the disease could be dangerous even years after the person has been infected.

The viral complication is called Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE), a progressive neurological disorder that involves inflammation in the brain, Live Science has reported.

Studies proved that people who have SSPE die on an average within one or two years after being diagnosed with the disease. The condition is said to be fatal although on an average, people may live longer.

Through further research, doctors have figured out that the risk of post-measles SSPE is always risky - kids who develop measles below the age of 5 have a one in 1,387 chance of developing SSPE in later stages.

It is believed that there will be new treatment that could cure this complication instantly. Researchers found that kids who get measles before turning a year old have a one in 609 chance of getting SSPE.

As reported by Forbes, the virus caused by the measles is said to infect the brain cells, though it takes years to form and can be easily misdiagnosed. Dr. James Cherry stated that the disease manifests in three stages.

The first stage is common and subtle, which changes the child's behavior in school. The second stage leads to the development of mild seizures. The final stage enables the seizures to become continuous and leads the patient into a coma. It does not stop there as most cases that have led to coma proved to be fatal.

Although infants that are less than one year old have a 1-to-600 ratio of survival when affected by SSPE, the disease has not been taken seriously in several countries. One main reason is because it progresses over the years without being detected easily. Now, the only hope depends heavily on new medicine and research.

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